California shop owner Lauri Carleton killed over Pride flag
Travis Ikeguchi’s family history is coming to light after he shot and killed Laura Carleton over a Pride flag hanging outside her store.
Public records reviewed by The Independent have revealed that Ikeguchi’s father is a decorated Florida Highway Patrol state trooper and a firearms and active shooter instructor.
The police link comes after officials said that Ikeguchi’s social media accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and far-right site Gab were filled with bigoted anti-LGBTQ+ posts and posts showing an intense hatred for law enforcement long before he murdered Carleton.
Police said that Ikeguchi, 27, made homophobic remarks about a Pride flag hanging outside of the mother-of-nine’s Mag.Pi fashion store in Cedar Glen on Friday. He then shot and killed the 66-year-old before fleeing.
Ikeguchi was later shot and killed by San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the homicide as a potential hate crime.
Carleton’s senseless murder has since led to an outpouring of grief and anger from her children and family members, Hollywood stars and the LGBT+ community members who have warned that her killing is a marker of the anti-LGBT+ hate currently being spread across the US.
